The Priory of Scions - Revised July 2005Credits: Anton Delbarre, Richard Czerwonky

with additional contributions from Scott Coutcher, Stephen DiPesa, Wendy Misuinas, Trish Pettinati,Steven Scheldeman, and Christopher Joseph Walsh.

Players are asked to remember this document represents the beliefs of the Priory of Scions in the World ofDarkness. Keep that in mind while reading, and direct questions to your NST or the AAMST Mortals.

Introduction

The primary purpose of the Priory is to make sure that the forces that are instrumental in theEnd Days are well-documented, and to be certain its members are prepared to play their rolein the establishment of God’s kingdom on Earth. To this end, the Priory of Scions studiesand documents the occult, working to discover which forces will be most important duringthe end times and how these forces will work against each other.

The Priory of Scions also protects the descendants of Aaron and David, since these are the‘messianic lineages.’ The Priory believes it is responsible for leading these lineages to an agewhere they will bring forth the Messiah that will establish God’s kingdom on Earth. Itsecretly helps and protects members of these families and works to keep them in the publiceye, and in positions of power and influence.

The Priory of Scions is not a religious order, though its members are indeed monotheists whowork towards a common religious cause. There is not, however, any uniform or establishedfaith or doctrine within the organization.

History

The Sion Origin

In ancient Sion, the priests of the Temple of Jerusalem led two schools, one for boys and onefor girls. The purpose of these schools was to preserve the sacred, messianic lineages ofAaron and David. The priests that ran these schools were men who could trace their ancestrydirectly back to one of those two men. As a sign of their sacred duty to continue the line oftheir ancestor, these priests were known by angelic titles and names.

Children born to one of these pure bloodlines were educated in the Temple schools. Boyswere groomed and educated to prepare them to fill important roles in society. Girls weregroomed and educated to become good mothers, so the pure lines would continue.

When a young woman reached maturity, she was impregnated by the angel of her line. Oncea child was conceived, these young women would enter marriage to a man selected by theTemple school. Because the girl was no longer a virgin, and carried another man’s child,grooms were rarely influential figures. Instead they were pious men of modest means andgood character, who saw the responsibility of raising a son or daughter of the Angels as agreat honour or as a good investment, since “their” first born was destined for an influentialrole in society.

When the virgin Mary was visited by the Angel Gabriel, she became pregnant, and Josephtook her as his wife. The child she carried was Jesus.

Birth of the Rex Deus

Having survived the Herodian purge, Jesus started his education at age seven in the Templeschool in Jerusalem. He was an excellent student and was chosen to represent his ancestor-lineage as one of the Angels. He moved to Nazareth and took a woman of his ancestor-lineage with him as a mate. She would be remembered by the name Mary Magdalene.

At age 30, a fellow Essene (Nazarene), John the Baptist, convinced Jesus to leave the Templeschool and begin public preaching. During this period it was known that he had romanticdealings with Mary Magdalene.

Jesus preached for three years, and as he preached he began to build a following of peoplewho believed strongly in his spiritual and political message. His followers plotted tooverthrow Roman rule and reclaim the Holy Land. They organized themselves into amovement, with Jesus as their spiritual pillar. For their political pillar they chose Jesus’ halfbrother (son of Joseph and Mary), James the Just.

When Jesus was crucified, leadership fell to a triumvirate of James the Just, Peter, and Johnthe Apostle. Paul, however, took it upon himself to spread Jesus’ spiritual teachings,believing that Jesus was the Christ and Messiah of the Jews. The Triumvirate had Paularrested, but the roots of Christianity had already taken hold. (See the Book of Acts).

According to Scionite documents, under the Triumvirate the movement became an influentialorganization. This would not last for long; Paulite extremists, retaliating for the arrest ofPaul, murdered James the Just in front of the Temple. This led to a public outcry, and thestart of the first great Hebrew revolt. To save the “pure lineages,” the movement secretlyevacuated large groups of Angels and students from the Temple schools to Greece. FromGreece they scattered throughout Europe, adapting to local monotheistic beliefs and customsso as to hide their Jewish ancestry.

During the first and second Jewish Revolt the Judaic peoples were massacred by the Romansin one of the greatest genocides in history. The root of all Judaic movements had beendestroyed, leaving only foreign followers and some diaspora-groups. The gentile followers ofPaul composed accounts of Jesus’ life based upon Ebionite sources, but took great pains todifferentiate themselves from Judaism so the Romans would not see them as Jewish rebels,especially since they worshiped Jesus, who had been executed as a rebel.

This European group of survivors named themselves Rex Deus, believing themselves to bethe protectors of the bloodlines that will bring forth the Messiah of David and Aaron, whowill one day establish the kingdom of God on Earth. The Rex Deus families became theleading families in Europe, passing on their secret orally among a select few of their progeny.These select few call themselves the Scions (the heirs), and they lead the Rex Deus familiesup to this day.

Some of the current Rex Deus families:

- de Bouillon

- Hapsburg

- Brienne

- Joinville

- Chaumont

- St Clairs of Roslin

- St Clair de Neg

- St Clair de Gisor

- the Lords of Gisors

- the Lords of Payen

- the Counts of Champagne

- the Counts of Fontaine

- the Counts of Anjou

The Society of Ormus

The roots of the organization that would become the Priory of Scions can be traced back tothe gnostic adept Ormesius, an Egyptian Seraphic priest, sage, and mystic, who lived in thefirst century. In A.D. 46, he and six of his followers were converted to a form of Christianityby one of Jesus’ disciples, Saint Mark. He formed a secret society which united esotericChristianity with the teachings about the messianic lineages. Ormesius adopted as his symbola cross surmounted by a rose, to signify the synthesis of the new and old religions.

Ormesius purified the Egyptian rites, and reconciled them with Christianity, bringing hisdisciples with him. He founded the Society of Ormus, and each member wore a red cross.The Essenes of Qumran and Therapeutae joined this order in order to conserve this ‘pure’form of Christianity and to preserve the knowledge of the messianic lineages. During earlymedieval times, the Society of Ormus relocated to Calabria (southern Italy).

Just before the end of the first millennium, the Society of Ormus succeeded in attaining thepapacy. Sylvester II, who was accused many times of witchcraft and dealing with the Devil,had a very stormy reign, but he did help his small society a great deal. In 1001, he arrangedwith the Fatimid Caliph for a group of clerics and knights from his society to make anexpedition to Syria and the Holy Land. Various historians have from time to time pointed tothis as the first wave of Crusaders and just as quickly have remarked on their lack ofaggressive zeal.

Al-Hakim greeted the Pope’s entourage with honor and spent many weeks in Jerusalemdiscussing the virtues of Islam versus Christianity with them. He was so impressed by theirsincerity that in 1002 the Caliph gave the Society of Ormus the use of a Byzantine church onMount Sion for a monastery and library.

Lexicon:Rex Deus refers to the families collectively. It also refers to a person who has oneparent that is a Rex Deus. Rex Deus Scion is only used when both parents are RexDeus, and when the child is taught the secret family history. Thus, a child with twoRex Deus parents who is not aware of the secret oral history is not considered aScion. Thus, all Scions are Rex Deus, but not all Rex Deus are Scions!

The First Priory

At the end of the 11th century, Eustace de Boulogne was oneof the Rex Deus Scions. The Rex Deus Prophecies pointed atthis age as the time during which the Temple of Sion had to bereclaimed. The Scions started planning a crusade andpressuring the pope, Urban II, to call for a crusade to reclaimthe Holy Land.

Meanwhile, Prince Ursus was the leader of the Society ofOrmus. Its prophecies (which were in part the sameprophecies from the same Essene sources as those of the RexDeus) told them that at the start of a new millennium, an heirof the line of David must reclaim the throne of Sion. So theylooked for a suitable man to make king of Jerusalem.

Godefroid de Bouillon, the young son of Eustace de Boulogne,fit the bill because the Society of Ormus believed him to be adescendant of the lost line of Merovingian kings, and thereforea direct descendant of the Davidian messianic lineage. Thatwould make him the rightful king of Jerusalem, and perhaps ofthe world. At the least, it would fulfill a great manyapocalyptic expectations, and could be seen as the first stepstoward the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

When Prince Ursus approached Eustace de Boulogne, a RexDeus Scion, they struck a pact to share cause and knowledge.The Society of Ormus would be relocated from Calabria toOrval, one of Eustace’s domains, where its members wouldreceive instructions about how they could serve the messianiclineages. During that period of education, the Society ofOrmus learned much about the Rex Deus and what hadhappened in the past millennium of Rex Deus activity.Eustace took it upon himself to coordinate the reform of thissecret society into an order to help the Rex Deus Scionsfurther their causes.

In 1070 a group of Calabrian monks from the Society ofOrmus arrived in Orval (present day Belgium) under theleadership of Prince Ursus. In Orval they founded a monasteryand received an extensive education in Scionite matters.

They called themselves the “Priory of Scions,” referring to theScions they would come to serve. The main purpose of thePriory of Scions was to become an independent organization,outside the control of the Rex Deus Scions. The Rex DeusScions felt this would allow the Priory to further the causes ofthe Rex Deus families and provide protection to the messianiclineages, while reducing the risk of revealing the Rex Deus’secrets.

Godefroid de Bouillon

Godefroid was the Lord ofBouillon and Lower Lorraineunder Henry V. Along with hisbrothers Eustace and Baldwin ofBoulogne (the future Baldwin I ofJerusalem) he joined the FirstCrusade in August of 1096,leading an army from Lorraine,some 40,000 strong, along“Charlemagne’s road,” toJerusalem.

Until the beginning of 1099Godefroid was a minor figure inthe crusade, with Baldwin,Bohemund of Taranto, RaymondIV of Toulouse, and Tancreddetermining the course of events.

In 1099, after the capture ofAntioch, the crusaders weredivided on what to do next. Mostof the foot soldiers wanted tocontinue south to Jerusalem, butRaymond, by this time consideredto be the leader of the crusade,hesitated to continue the march.

Godefroid, who had been secretlypromised the title of King ofJerusalem, convinced Raymond tolead the army to Jerusalem.Godefroid was active in the siegeof the city, and on July 15, 1099,he was one of the first to enter thecity, which was the scene of ageneral massacre of Muslims andJews.

On July 22, when Raymondrefused to be named King ofJerusalem, Godefroid was electedin his place.

Godefroid refused to be crowned‘king’ in the city where Christ haddied. Instead he took the titleAdvocatus Sancti Sepulchri,“advocate” or “defender” of theHoly Sepulchre.

Godefroid died of the Godefroiddied of plague so Godefroid’sbrother, Baldwin, was crownedking on December 25, 1100.

The People’s Crusade

At the Council of Clermont assembled in the heart of France, November 1095, Pope Urban IIgave an impassioned sermon to a large audience of French nobles and clergy. He called forthe audience to wrest control of Jerusalem from the hands of the Muslims. France, he said,was overcrowded and the land of Canaan was overflowing with milk and honey. He spoke ofthe problems of noble violence and that the solution was to turn swords to God’s own service:“let robbers become knights.” He spoke of rewards both on Earth and in Heaven, whereremission of sins was offered to any who might die in the undertaking. The crowd was stirredto frenzied enthusiasm with cries of Deus le volt! (God wills it!).

After this speech, Peter the Hermit, a member of the Priory of Scions from the monastery inOrval and personal tutor of Godefroid de Bouillon, began a tour of France and Germany,preaching the merits of a crusade as he went. Peter’s speeches appealed not only to trainedknights, who usually followed their princes and kings on crusade, but to labourers, tradesmenand peasants. It was these untrained and disorganized folk who followed Peter most eagerlyto Constantinople in what became known as “The People’s Crusade” or “The Crusade of thePoor People.” Soon swarms of poor knights, peasants, vagrants, beggars, women, andchildren were on the move; a People’s Crusade of paupers and adventurers, all fanatical intheir zeal to free the Holy Land. They marched well in advance of the armies of the kings andprinces of Europe, which were slow to muster.

The mobs were gathered into five large armies. The principal army was led by Peter theHermit, who quickly emerged as the leader of the People’s Crusade, collecting at least 15,000(some sources say 100,000) crusaders as he marched overland from Flanders to Cologne. Hisarmy pressed through Sofia and Philippopolis and marched past Constantinople, where theyjoined forces with Walter the Penniless. The two armies then marched on to Nicomediawhere they set up camp. Their numbers were later bolstered by the arrival of survivors of theGerman Crusades, as well as crusaders coming by ship from Italy.

As an inexperienced leader, Peter had trouble maintaining discipline among his unruly troops,and he returned to Constantinople to seek assistance from the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I.The Emperor refused to commit troops to a crusade, but one of his most talentedcommanders, who went by the name Tafur, offered to take charge of Peter’s militarycampaign. Tafur was an Italian knight of Norman descent, and as a youth he had fought inCalabria. A Rex Deus Scion of lesser influence, he now lived in Constantinople. In additionto leading Peter’s army, Tafur would become the forefather of the Paleologus lineage, the lastdynasty to rule Constantinople.

While Peter was in Constantinople, his armies decided to go raiding. During these raids, thebulk of Peter’s forces were slaughtered by the Turks. Of an estimated 20,000 crusaders, only3,000 survived by escaping to a small, half-completed coastal fortress near Kibotos (Civetot),where they were rescued from the sea by Emperor Alexius. Walter the Penniless was killedin the fighting.

Thus ended the People’s Crusades, although Peter the Hermit and a number of its survivorsjoined forces with the new bands of crusaders arriving from Europe under the command ofthe great Kings and Princes.

The First Crusade

Though there were four Rex Deus armies that left for the Holy Land, it was only Godefroidwho renounced his fiefs, sold all his goods, and made it apparent that the Holy Land would behis domain for the remainder of his life. Godefroid did this because he had been secretlyselected by the other Rex Deus commanders to become Governor of Jerusalem.

Peter the Hermit, who had become the spiritual leader and saint of the ‘army of beggars,’appointed Tafur as his military commander. When Tafur first saw the army of beggarswandering without a leader, he laid aside his arms and the clothing he wore and traded it forsackcloth and a scythe. He became an ascetic for whom poverty had a great mystical value.

Tafur received the epithet ‘King’ from his followers because of his noble birth and hischarismatic leadership. With Peter as his adviser, he laid down rules for the army and beganmolding them into a true fighting force. Not long after ‘King Tafur’ had assumed theleadership of the peasant army, its soldiers began calling themselves tafurs.

King Tafur soon became a man whom even the crusading princes approached with humilityand reverence. It was King Tafur who performed the coronation of Godefroid de Bouillon.The Muslims, though they faced the crusading barons fearlessly, were terrified of the tafurs,whom they called “not Franks, but living devils.”

In each captured city the tafurs looted everything they could lay hands on, raped the Muslimwomen, and carried out indiscriminate massacres. The official leaders of the Crusade had noauthority over them at all. When the Emir of Antioch protested about the cannibalism of thetafurs, the princes could only admit apologetically: “All of us together cannot tame KingTafur.”

When Godefroid de Bouillon was to become King of Jerusalem, the leaders of the Crusaderarmies chose King Tafur as ‘the Mightiest One’ to perform the coronation. He performed itby giving Godefroid a branch of thorns in memory of the Crown of Thorns, and Godefroiddid homage and swore to hold Jerusalem as a fief from God and King Tafur.

When the crusade ended, King Tafur would not see Jerusalem abandoned, but pledged to staywith his army to defend the new King and his Kingdom. He and his tafurs were no longermere beggars, but respected soldiers, enriched by the spoils of war. They became the firstguards of the monastery on Mount Sion.

In 1099 a delegation of the monks left the monastery in Orval to help Godefroid secure hisposition as King of Jerusalem. In return, Godefroid helped them with the restoration andfortification of the monastery on Mount Sion, that had been given to the Society of Ormus bythe Caliph Al-Haqim. It was christened Notre Dame de Sion and it became the home of theOrder of Sion, which was founded by the monks as a public cover for the secret activities ofthe Priory of Scions.

In the period immediately after the First Crusade’s conquest of Jerusalem, the only sources ofspiritual authority in the devastated city were the remaining religious communities, foremostamong them the Order of Sion. Peter the Hermit was held in such high regard that he was leftin charge of the city while Godefroid went on to defeat the Egyptians at Ascalon. PlacingPeter in charge meant that the Priory of Scions was actually in control of Jerusalem.

A few years later, Peter returned to Liège, where he establishedan Augustinian monastery at Neufmoustier (Huy, Belgium). In1110 when the abbey in Neufmoustier was completed, theremaining Priory members in Orval left their monastery andmoved to Neufmoustier. Peter died in his new abbey in 1115.

By the middle of the 12th century, the Order of Sion hadmonasteries and abbeys in Palestine (Mount Carmel), southernItaly (Calabria), and in France (Orleans, Bourges, Paris, andTroyes). The Order of Sion occupied Notre Dame de Sionuntil 1291 when it was overwhelmed by the Muslim onslaught.When the monastery on Mount Sion was abandonded by theOrder of Sion, its link to the Priory of Scions started to fade.The link would be severed completely after the cutting of theelm at Gisors. By the 17th century the Order of Sion wascompletely absorbed by the Jesuits.

The Excavation

In 1099 Godefroid de Bouillon died of the plague and hisbrother became the King of Jerusalem. This posed a seriousproblem for the Rex Deus Scions as Baldwin was not a Scionand knew nothing about the Rex Deus or the messianiclineages.

Under Godefroid, and at the request of the Rex Deus, thePriory of Scions had started looking for a treasure that hadbeen placed under the Temple of Jerusalem by the Rex Deusforefathers. Since the birth of the Rex Deus, all of itsknowledge had been passed on orally from Scion to Scion, soafter a millennium, the knowledge that each Scion believe to be‘the truth’ differed greatly. They all agreed that with the turnof the millennium they had to reclaim Sion and that importantthings were to be done, but they were not sure what thosethings were. So they decided to look for the treasure theirancestors had buried beneath the Temple before they fledduring the Jewish Revolt.

This treasure was a collection of tomes, artefacts, and richesleft by the Angels of the Temple school. When Baldwin tookthe throne, he did not want any such activity on the holyTemple Mount, because he feared the repercussions if theVatican were to hear about such sacrilege. The Scions werepowerless. They could not reveal the secret to him, because itwas against their traditions, but they could not go against theorders of the King.

In 1113, a new opportunity was created. A group of Christianknights formed themselves into a new order, the “Sovereign

The Tafurs

“Perhaps some might think thatthese men were not useful for thegeneral good, and that he couldhave fed others with what he wasuselessly giving to them.

But no one can describe howuseful they were in carrying food,in collecting tribute, in hurlingstones during the sieges of cities.

They were better at carryingheavy burdens than the asses andmules, and they were as good athurling projectiles as themachines and launchers.

Moreover, when pieces of fleshwere found among the paganbodies at Marra, and elsewhere,during a terrible famine, ahideous rumor circulated widelyamong the pagans, that the tafurseagerly fed upon the corpses ofSaracens.

To circulate this rumor amongthem even more vividly, the tafurscarried the battered corpse of aTurk out in full view of the otherTurks, set it afire, and roasted itas if the flesh was going to beeaten.

When they learned what hadhappened, thinking that thecharade was real, the Turks greweven more afraid of thefearlessness of the tafurs than ofthe crusade armies.”

Military Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta,” or in short, theKnights Hospitaller. The Knights Hospitaller was the first religious order of military knights.The creation of the Knight Hospitaller inspired Scions Hugh de Champagne and Hugues dePayen, because the concept of a religious military order was the perfect way for the Scions toregain acess to the Temple. Ordinary religious or military groups had been banned byBaldwin from making camp on the Temple grounds, but the Scions reasoned that Baldwincould not have any ground for refusing a military order of the Church.

In 1114, Hugh de Champagne and Hugues de Payen travelled to Jerusalem to persuadeBaldwin to allow them to post a small contingent of knights to protect the highways forpilgrims. They proposed to him that their “Knights Templar” should be stationed on the siteof Herod’s stables, where they could not be seen from the road. This had the secret advantageof giving the knights access to an underground level where they could excavate directly intothe subterranean vaults where the treasure was hidden. To their surprise, Baldwin rejected theproposal.

Undaunted, they turned their attention to Baldwin’s cousin, who would one day be hissuccessor. This potential king, also named Baldwin, had been a Muslim prisoner-of-war forfour years and had far more radical ideas than the current king. In 1118 Baldwin I died ofnatural causes, and his cousin was quickly crowned Baldwin II. Within weeks, nine knightswere stationed in Herod’s stables, and they started their excavations. They found the treasureand used its riches to finance the Order of Sion, the Knights Templar and the Cistercensians,an order led by Bernard de Clairvaux of the Rex Deus. The Cistercensians built many gothiccathedrals in Europe, and Bernard de Clairvaux wrote the laws of the Templar Order andconvinced the Pope to acknowledge the Templars as a military order.

The Order of Sion and the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon (as the Knights Templarwere officially known) were one organization unified under the common leadership of thePriory of Scions. The two orders were led by a Grandmaster, who always was a member ofthe Priory of Scions.

Cutting of the Elm at Gisors

In 1188 AD King Phillip II of France and King Henry II of England (with his heir Richard theLion Hearted at his side) met on the sacred field at Gisors. This site in France was wherekings had come for centuries to debate, forge alliances, and do battle. A huge elm tree in themiddle of the sacred field was the central symbol - an ancient tree thought to be almost 800years old at that time, so huge that nine men joined hand to hand could not encircle it.

Phillip and Henry, both Rex Deus Scions, were not on good terms; war between England andFrance was in the air, and Henry was making a claim on France. Phillip informed Henry thatthe elm would be cut down. Philip wanted to cut the elm at Gisors, ancient symbol ofgenealogical branching and direct continuity of the Rex Deus lineages, as a statement toHenry II: “Go away, France is mine!”

Henry and Richard planned to defend the elm. A battle ensued: Richard was wounded, andthe French army stormed the field with superior manpower while the English fled and tookrefuge in the nearby chateaux. Phillip chopped down the elm and retained France for himself.Henry returned home and ruled England, passing it on to Richard the Lion Heart, followed byHenry’s second son, John. The outward visible symbol of the vine transplanted from the

Holy Land was no more.

After this incident the Order of Sion elected Jean de Gisors as Grandmaster. Jean de Gisorswas not a member of the Priory of Scions, and with his election the Order of Sion and theKnights Templar were no longer under the same leader. That day the Priory of Scions lost itsgrip on the Order of Sion, and thus lost much of its influence in France. The Priory retainedcontrol of the Knights Templar, however, and through them was able to hold onto some of itsinfluence France, and all of its influence in England, where the Order of Sion had nofoothold.

The cutting of the elm at Gisors did more than just split the Templars off from its parentorder, it defined the boundary line between two Rex Deus lineages: the Plantagenets on oneside, supported by the Templars, and the Capetians on the other, supported by the Order ofSion. The division between these two lineages eventually produced not just the destruction ofthe Templars by the French King, Philip III and his puppet Pope Clement V, but also led to along and bloody feud between the two Rex Deus lines: the Hundred Years War betweenFrance and England.

Rise and Fall of the Templars

During their time of activity, the Knights Templar became known for more than just theirskill as soldiers and their piety. They became bankers, diplomats, and power-brokers. Anelite few even became scholars, attempting to translate Hebrew Old Testament texts (such asthe Book of Maccabees) into the vernacular. Charges of heresy and disloyalty dogged themfrom as early as the early 12th century. Some of this undoubtedly arose from envy; as thebankers of Europe, the Templars acquired quite a formidable stash of gold.

As the influence of the organisation grew, the Priory of Scions was experiencing more andmore difficulty controlling the Templars.

One of the problems the Priory faced was the influence of unknowing, ambitious Rex Deusmembers who worked against the plans of the Priory in order to further their own goals. Insuch cases, the Priory refused to work against the Rex Deus (as that would defy its ownpurpose) and so the Priory became powerless. But still, that could not explain everything...

In 1307, on Friday, October 13th, King Philip the Fair ordered the arrest of the Templars onthe charges of heresy. He was after their wealth, having already seized the assets of the Jewsin his realm a year earlier. Legal inquiries ensued, and Grandmaster and Priory-memberJacques de Molay was thrown in to prison on charges of heresy.

In 1312, during the Council of Vienne, the Pope (who was in Philip’s pocket), dissolved theTemplars as a religious order. Finally, in 1314, after refusing to renounce his claim ofinnocence, Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake in Paris as a relapsed heretic. That day,the Priory of Scions abandoned all ties to the Templar Order.

The Templars endured different treatment after the dissolution of the Order -- in somecountries, they were hardly bothered, while in France they suffered torture, harassment, andvigorous persecution. Outside France, the charges were viewed with disbelief. The King andPope did not outlast de Molay by long; both died within months of de Molay’s execution.

After the death of de Molay, the Priory discovered the diary of Roncelin de Fos while savingTemplar archives from French persecution. Roncelin was a 13th century Templar of Catharancestry. At some point, Roncelin had begun forming clandestine “cells” within the order,spreading heretical teachings and initiations. The Priory had been unaware of this internalvirus, which is why De Molay went to the grave protesting his innocence - he truly had noknowledge of heresy within the order. This cellular structure is still present in organizationsthat claim to descend from the Templars, like the Freemasons.

The Sundering

In losing the Order of Sion and the Knights Templars, the Priory had lost its two mostimportant tools for helping the Rex Deus. All it had left was knowledge; now that itsinfluence had waned, it lacked the means to secretly follow the actions of all Rex Deusmembers and Rex Dues Scions. The Priory also lost track of several important documents,adding to those lost in the Templar purge and the Gisors incident.

The Priory members realized that their organization had failed horribly and that they had toadopt a new modus operandi. In 1320, for the only time in history, all the members of thePriory of Scions gathered in a formal convention. During this event, which came to be knownas the Sundering, the Priory decided to pursue a policy of diversification of influences andresources. The members created a formal structure for the different Scionite monasteries andinstituted the system of ranks so as to prevent a second Roncelinian incident. Henceforth theGrandmaster Scion and his Monasts would lead the organization, giving information to thelower ranks on a strict need-to-know-basis.

It was during this convention that the Priory reaffirmed its commitment to the protection ofthe Rex Deus and the Scions, and instituted the policy of secrecy through information,operating on the principal that the best place to hide the truth is in plain sight. The membersundertook several other reforms over the course of the year, reforging the Priory and findingnew zeal for its cause.

The measures instituted during the Sundering still stand today and they have guided thePriory through many hardships that proved fatal to other secret societies. Because of themeasures concerning diversification, secrecy through information, and the institution ofranks, the Sundering is the end of the Priory of Scions timeline. After the Sundering, thehistory of the Priory as a whole becomes too fragmented, vague, and localized to be able tospeak of one overarching timeline for the organization. There are a few events, though, thatinfluenced the entire Priory.

The Round Table

The Priory of Scions heard about the formation of the Round Table and approached the Circleof Hermes. After some discussion between the two societies, the Circle of Hermes invitedthe Priory to the first meeting of the Round Table in New York City in 1947.

The Priory joined the Round Table because it had suffered losses in the war. Its resourceswere strained and it needed the added security that came from cooperating with other secretsocieties as they all worked together to rebuild. The Priory remains the most opaqueorganization in the Round Table, though not many people realize this since the Priory revealsso much false information under the guise of truth.

The Priory sends two representatives to the International Round Table each year. TheMonastic Councils decides by consensus who will serve. Tradition dictates that onerepresentative is selected from Europe, and one from North America, but that has changed inrecent years.

Hoaxes

Following the policy of ‘secrecy through information,’ the Priory of Scions has woven a webof hoaxes to obscure its true form. Over the course of centuries, it planted strange fragmentswith false and sometimes even ludicrous information, pointing to the most incredible, non-existent conspiracies. They created a climate for the power-hungry and the occult-crazed tostart up secret societies which the Priory of Scions could try to influence.

The Priory never controlled such a hoax since it did not want a clever mind tracing it back tothem, but they did indirectly influence some of those societies to further its own cause.

One of the most famous examples is the “Priory of Sion” hoax that started in 1956. PierrePlantard, who was not a member of the Priory of Scions and knew nothing of the organizationor of the Rex Deus, concocted this hoax for the purposes of making money. Plantard usedfraudulent parchments planted by the real Priory as proof. In 1993 Plantard confessed that hisPriory of Sion was a fraud. Since then all attempts at research in the field of the Order ofSion (and anything that could point to the Priory of Scions) have been scoffed at by ‘seriousacademics.’

The New Millennium

With the decline of monarchies and the rise of democracies, the Priory has been experiencingproblems keeping tabs on the Rex Deus members. It is actively looking for new ways to keepthe Rex Deus members in the public eye and in places of power and influence. It is also stilltrying to recover the documents it lost during the incidents with the Templars and the Orderof Sion. A favourite pastime of many ‘monks’ (the informal name the members of the Prioryuse for themselves) is ‘weaving the web,’ planting the seeds of new conspiracies, hoaxes, andfascinating (yet untrue) theories.

The Priory works together with the Circle of Hermes and its Round Table. Its seesmembership as an easy source of extra information regarding Rex Deus activities. As long asthe Priory can hide its agenda from the members of the Round Table and as long as thebenefits of this membership outweigh the costs, the Priory will remain a member of theRound Table.

The Scionite Code

The Scionite Code is taught to novices using a short verse. Each line represents a differentaspect of the Priory’s goals.

Weave the web,protect the Elm,Serve the King from shadows.Keep the tie, cut the knotWith traitor Roncelin remembered.Your canon is the Hermit’s word The wise react instead of act,Secrecy through informationPrince’s word is fact.

Weave the web

Since the Sundering, the Priory of Scions has used misdirection as one of its primary methodsof keeping itself and its purposes hidden from all eyes. Many members of the Priory spendtheir time planting false information and red herrings for those who seek the truth. Allmembers are expected to take any opportunity to plant tidbits of fraudulent information(occult or otherwise), since one carefully laid strand can lead to entire webs of falseinformation being spun, without the Priory needing to act further.

Protect the Elm

The elm at Gisors was visible symbol of the vine transplanted from the Holy Land, just as theRex Deus have been transplanted. Protect the elm refers to tracking and protecting thefamilies trees of the Rex Deus, by compiling information and records and searching for newmethods to make tracking the Rex Deus easier. The Priory also works to prevent feuds fromarising in the Rex Deus.

Serve the King from shadows

The Priory of Scions was founded to serve the Rex Deus Scions. King serves as a metaphorfor the Rex Deus Scions, and shadows refers the secrecy that surrounds both the Priory andthe Rex Deus Scions. Secrecy was established so that the Res Deus Scions could lead theirfamilies without interference or distraction, while the Priory could search for knowledge andinformation and protect the Rex Deus Scions from afar.

The goal of the Priory is to help the Rex Deus Scions gain power, fame, and riches. Priorymembers are forbidden from acting against the Rex Deus, and from revealing the existence ofthe Priory to the Rex Deus Scions. Priory members, however, are cautious not to help toomuch or make things too easy. If a Scion does not have to strive to succeed, if he suspects hehas a mysterious benefactors, he will never develop into the person he needs to be.

Keep the tie, cut the knot

Priory members need contacts, allies, and influence among the world in order to gainknowledge, conduct research, and protect the Rex Deus. ‘Keep the tie’ directs members tobuild up their knowledge and contacts and other such useful ties. ‘Cut the knot’ warns themto be cautious, and to stay free of any ties that cannot be easily dissolved. Priory membersmust always leave a way out, and this way out must not lead anyone following the trail backto the member or the Priory of Scions.

With traitor Roncelin remembered

This is a simple admonishment to stay loyal to the Priory and its structure. Roncelin cost thePriory of Scions the Templars, one of the greatest losses of manpower and information thatthe Priory of Scions has ever suffered. Since that time, the leaders of the Priory haveencouraged all members to voice their concerns and ideas, so that no member feels he mustresort to secret cells. Members are expected to work within the present structure, even incases of disagreement or reform.

Your canon is the Hermit’s word

A member may question the word of a Hermit, but you must never disobey. Like all law, aperson may try to change it, but should never break it. Even though a Hermit’s decision mayseem strange or illogical, the Hermit has greater knowledge of Priory secrets. The use of“canon” reminds members that if they cannot voice their concerns to their Hermit, they mayappeal to the higher power of the Grand Master.

The wise react instead of act

The Priory is a passive organization because it is a secret organization. People andorganizations who are watching for such things usually do not miss the clues left by action.The Priory believes it is better to stay on the defensive, choosing when, where, and how theywill act. Its willing to endure small losses rather than risk the losing its secrecy.

Secrecy through information

The Priory does not reveal that it has secrets. Its members are always willing to supplyinformation, but that information is never correct information about Priory matters. Truthshould never be revealed if it pertains to the Priory.

Prince’s word is fact

The Priory of Scions keeps no secrets from its Princes. When a Prince tells a memberssomething concerning Priory business, it is accepted as a fact. Princes know why they cannotreveal certain secrets to those of lesser knowledge. As some humans go mad when entrustedwith knowledge that is not meant for human eyes, many a member of the Priory has beendriven mad by uncovering secrets before the time was right.

Ranks

Aspirant

Aspirants are ignorant supplicants. All they know about the Priory of Scions is that theorganization is devoted to preparing the world for the Kingdom of God on Earth. They arewatched carefully, and nurtured carefully, to see if they have the strength of faith andcharacter necessary to progress to a Novice. To insure there is no bias, an Aspirant is nevermentored by the member who first sponsors the individual. Players wishing to start asAspirants must be in the same domain as a PC member of the Priory of Scions.

Novice (required status: 1)

Novices live in monasteries, which they may not leave without a chaperon. Novices aremostly young members of the Priory of Scions; it is rare for an adult to be a Novice, thoughnot unheard of. A member maintains this rank until his supervising mentor determines thathe is ready to be promoted. A mentor may hail from any rank in the Priory of Scions.Players wishing to start as Novices must be in a domain with a monastery.

Prioran (required status: 2)

Priorans are the rank and file of the Priory of Scions. They live in monasteries, but may comeand go as they please. A Prioran’s first duty is to research the occult and seek knowledge tofurther the Priory’s understanding of their role in the world, presently and in the future.

Castellan (required status: 2)

Castellan is a rank reserved only for men. A Castellan administers the property of the Priory.Administering covers everything from performing maintenance and paying property tax to thephysical security of the monastery. On those rare occasions when the Priory resorts to the useof force, a Castellan always coordinates the effort. A Castellan resides in the monastery headminister s (as does his family, if he has one), though sometimes a Castellan mustadminister more than one piece of property.

Counselor (required status: 3)

Counselor is a rank also reserved only for men. They attend to the spiritual needs of amonastery. The Priory of Scions is not a religious order, but membership is premised onmonotheistic belief. Counselors are broadly trained in religion in order to provide spiritualguidance to members. Life within the Priory is also stressful, and often times Priory memberssimply need some one to talk to. Counselors fulfill that need.

Prince (required status: 4)

Princes can establish new monasteries and induct new members, and are considered to be thetutors and exemplar members of the Priory of Scions. Princes are not required to belong toany particular priory or abbey; they are expected to travel to where they are most needed.However, the process of founding a new monastery takes time, and Princes will settle in oneplace temporarily while they carry out their duties, moving on only when they feel the localPriory can stand on its own.

Prince-Mentor (required status 4, prerequisite rank: Prince)

A Prince-Mentor head any monastery where there are novices. He is responsible for theireducation and protection. The suffix of -Mentor is granted by the Hermit who runs thesupervising abbey. All Prince-Mentors together form the College Council. There are nevermore Prince-Mentors than there are schools for novices.

Hermit (required status: 5, prerequisite rank: Prince)

Hermits lead an abbey, and grant and strip ranks from the abbey’s members.

All Hermits together form the Monastic Council, which is presided over by the Grandmaster.The title of Hermit can only be granted or taken away when the Monastic Council reaches aconsensus on the matter. The number of Hermits in the Priory of Scions is always equal tothe number of abbeys.

Grandmaster Scion (no required status; no prerequisite rank)

The leader of the Priory Scions, the Grandmaster Scion appoints Princes.

The Grandmaster Scion is appointed by the previous Grandmaster Scion. When a newGrandmaster Scion takes office, he must immediately appoint his successor, though he mayalter his choice later on. The Monastic Council can veto the appointment of a successor bysimple majority. If a Grandmaster Scion dies without a successor, all Princes are called toappear for the Monastic Council, where they must debate until they reach a consensus on whothe new Grandmaster Scion will be. If the Monastic Council approves the choice by a simplemajority, the person is given the office of Grandmaster Scion. If the person is not approvedby the Monastic Council, the Princes must reach a consensus on a new candidate.

DwellingsMonasteries , Abbeys,and Priories

Most of the earliest communities of the Priory of Scions (such as Mount Carmel) consisted ofgroups of huts collected about a common center, usually the house of some hermit, butwithout any attempt at orderly arrangement. Such communities were not an invention of thePriory of Scions, but mirrored the communities of the Essenes.

During the heydays of the Templar Knights, the vast wealth that was amassed was used tohouse all monasteries in buildings not unlike the first two monasteries at Orval and MountSion. After the fall of the Templars the housing of monasteries greatly diversified.

A monastery is the physical dwelling of any community of members of the Priory of Scions.Monasteries range from modest family homes to vast, historical religious estates, dependingon the size and needs of the community it serves. An abbey is a monastery overseen by aHermit. All other monasteries are called priories.

Each priory is dependent on an abbey and a new priory can only be founded by a Prince.Novices are confined to abbeys or priories run by a Prince-Mentor and are forbidden to leavethe grounds unsupervised.

A priory can be as small as a residence of two or three Prioransand as big as a community for several hundred members. Itsmembers fall under the authority of the Hermit that sen thePrince to establish the priory. A priory becomes an abbey assoon as one of its members gains the title of Hermit.

Life within the PrioryMembership in the Priory is Low Approval in European countries andHigh Approval in all other countries.

Members of the Priory of Scions may purchase the following Merits at halfprice: Resources and Retainers. Members also received one freespecialization in any skill.

Imagine having to defend something that doesn’t even know itneeds to be defended. Having to protect something from therest of the world and often times from itself as well. On top ofthat, imagine having to defend it and never expose to it thatyou exist. That is the life those who are members of the Prioryof Scions.

While the majority of the Priory of Scions is based in Europe,the Rex Deus have traveled the world. In addition, much of theknowledge the Priory seeks has been scattered to distant points.Often times this has lead to members of the Priory of Scion totravel from the land they call home, in order to set up newmonasteries to begin the ever watchful existence.

To an outsider, a life inside of a monastery might seem somberand celibate, but nothing could be further from the truth.While life as a low ranking member of the Priory does comewith a certain forfeiture of freedoms, this does not mean thatfamilies don’t exist inside the walls of the monastery.Membership in the Priory is often hereditary. In addition,while the Priory is modeled on a monastic order, the religionsinside the walls of any given monastery are not homogeneous.The members of the Priory follow many variants ofmonotheism.

Life inside of a monastery usually begins at a very early age,but never before age seven. Sensitive information, however, isnever taught before age 12. Novices are the newcomers to thePriory of Scions who are brought into the organization afterbeing converted to the mission that the Priory holds.

Even for those whose parents are members of the Priory,exposure to the Priory and entry to the position of Novice doesnot take place until the child has reached at least age 12.Traditionally this was the age a boy came into his manhood.

A note for Storytellers andPlayers:The Priory of Scions oftenprovides a home for its members,but this does not free membersfrom the need to seek regularemployment.

The Priory of Scions is not yourday job. Your job may besomething you do simply to earn apaycheck, or it may be directlyrelated to the work you do for thePriory, or it may be a job yougenuinely enjoy. Priory membersare free to pursue any professionthey wish.

Priory members who attainsufficient rank may also pursue afamily life if they desire, andmembership in the Priory is oftenhereditary.

Though the Priory is committed toprotecting the Rex Deus and itshistory has been intricately tied tothe Rex Deus, the primary goal ofany Priory member is knowledgeof the occult. The Priory mustlearn about occult forces so that itis better able to prepare the worldand protect the Rex Deus.

It is expected that many domainswill have only a few members ofthe Priory of Scions. Plots shouldnot be focused on the Rex Deusexcept in rare instances. Theaverage Priory PC should beoccupied with research,knowledge hunting, ‘weaving theweb,’ and networking.

The Rex Deus Scions need onlyone eye kept on them, since thePriory of Scions is there merely tonudge them along the path togreatness, not propel them. A RexDeus Scion’s character must beleft to develop independently.

Rex Deus and Rex Deus Scionsare not available as PCs and areTop Approval with Globalnotification for NPCs!

Younger children might receive lessons to prepare them for this entry, but are not exposed tothe true teachings of the Priory of Scions.

In recent years there have been some exceptions to this teaching policy. Some Prince-Mentors have grown to view age as a crucial factor in being ready to undertake a life-longmission, so in some cases exposure is postponed until after the child has completed universityand had some time live on their own and explore the world.

Initiation into the Priory of Scions is a simple affair. A Prince-Mentor quizzes an Aspirant onall manner of items to test the Aspirant’s faith, conviction, ethics, general knowledge of theoccult, and sharpness of wit. If the Prince-Mentor is satisfied that the Aspirant has displayedenough characteristics and knowledge, the Prince-Mentor teaches the Aspirant the ScioniteCode. Once the Aspirant can recite the Code, he or she is considered a Novice and appointeda personal mentor. The first task of the Novice’s mentor is to teach the meaning behind thecode.

Once a Novice has been initiated, they begin their studies and their work inside of themonastery. A Novice is never permitted to leave the monastery without a chaperon. It isduring this time that the Novice studies and researches the Occult, Theology and History, inaddition to doing research, and studying the social interactions that higher ranking Priory ofScion members are engaged in. Once the Novice is ready for promotion, the Novice appliesto the Hermit of the nearest abbey, who will promote the Novice. The Novice may gain alocal position, or be sent to a new location to fulfill a need.

Life outside the Priory

The Round Table“We benefit from this alliance. If this ever changes, our ways will part...”

Circle of Hermes“And many who are now first, shall be last....”

Project Garnet“Aliens... off course... Well, mad as hatter, but excellent allies...”

Scarecrows“Better having loose cannons than no cannons at all...”

Vampires“As long as they don’t bother the Rex Deus, we don’t bother them.”

Werewolves“If vampires exist, maybe they do too, but let the others in the Round Table find that out.”

Note: Membership in the Priory is largely (though not exclusively) hereditary.“The wise react instead of act” extends to recruitment as well. The Priory ofScions waits for the right candidate for recruitment to appear throughcircumstance. They do not actively seek out recruits. PCs should not be activelyrecruiting in game unless there are extenuating IC circumstances.

Magi“Magi ? Illusionists, you mean... or occultists... but magi ? ...Maybe we should visit ourHermetic friends...”

Priories of Note

Orval (Belgium)Notre Dame de Sion (Israel - Jerusalem)Mount Carmel (Israel)Calabria (Italy)Gisors (France) Lexicon

abbey: A monastery overseen by a Hermit

Knights Templar: Order of military knights founded by the Order of Sion but controlled bythe Priory of Scions. The Order of Sion and the Knights Templar split in the 12th Centurywhen tie between the Order of Sion and the Priory of Scions began to break. The Priory ofScions controlled the Knights Templar until the 14th century.

monastery: The physical dwelling of any community of members of the Priory of Scions.

Order of Sion: Founded as a cover organization for the Priory of Scions in the in 11th

century. In the 12th century the Order began to break away from Priory. Over the next fourcenturies ties between the two societies dissolved; the Order of Sion was completely absorbedby the Jesuits in the 1600s.

priory: Any community of members of the Priory of Scions not overseen by a Hermit.

Priory of Scions: Originally an order of monks founded to independently and secretly aid theRex Deus lineages. The modern Priory of Scions continues its mission to protect and aid theRex Deus lineages to prepare them, and itself, for the Second Coming of the Messiah. Themodern Priory is not a religious order, but it is an order dedicated to a religious cause.Members in the Priory practice Judeo-Christian beliefs, though many members depart fromtraditional denominations, so there is a wide variety of spiritual diversity to be found in thePriory.

Rex Deus: Lineages descended from David and Aaron. Mary (mother of Jesus) was amember of the Rex Deus. Only one parent needs to be Rex Deus for the child to beconsidered a member of the Rex Deus. If both parents are Rex Deus, the child is onlyconsidered a Rex Deus Scion if the secret oral history is passed on to him.

Scion or Rex Deus Scion: A member of a Rex Deus family that has both a Rex Deus motherand father and who aware of the secret history of his ancestry. Rex Deus Scions are notmembers of the Priory of Scions.

Sion: See Zion

Zion: The Hebrew term for Jerusalem